All was still.
I was starting to suspect he wasn’t home.
I stepped onto the top step and paused. Four doors awaited me on the second floor, two standing open. One of the closed doors was narrower than the others, denoting a hall closet or something similar. Being that I saw the edge of a toilet through one of the open doors, I suspected this place was a two-bedroom.
Ignoring the bathroom, I walked slowly toward the other open room. I needed to keep my calm and not blast his face with fire. Given that my split-second reactions were always incredibly violent, which had kept me alive so far, my goal of composure was easier made than kept.
I brushed my fingers against the wood, pushing the door open slowly. It swung on well-oiled hinges. A bed came into view, neatly made. A dresser stood against the wall, its top bare. The nightstand next to the bed had a bare top as well. This was a guest room, and clearly not lived in.
The last door awaited me. So did the vampire standing next to it, looking at me like I was going into the snake pit and he did not approve.
“Shoo,” I mouthed, and motioned for him to get away. I had enough to worry about without his vampiric protective malfunction tripping me up. “Go!” I waved at him again until he grudgingly moved to the side.
The deep breath I took didn’t still my raging heart. Adrenaline surged within me, preparing me for ashowdown. Making me want to kick the door open with guns blazing, ready to take the O.K. Corral. I was not a subtle person.
I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and held my breath as I turned it. The latch clicked and I froze. No sound issued from within. I slowly pushed open the door. The bottom rubbed against something. A rug.
That sound would be heard.
I threw the door open the rest of the way and jumped into the room, my sword drawn in front of me, ready to cut through a hex. Something leapt out from the right, streaking through the air. A wall of fire roared in front of me. I hadn’t meant to summon it. A spire of flame shot out, raking across the back of something small and headed straight for me. I hadn’t meant to summon that, either. The thing screeched and darted away, its tail on fire. I cut out all the flame, getting a grip, just in time to see the creature disappear under the bed.
Chapter Eighteen
Istalked forward and swept my gaze across the room. The rumpled covers indicated someone had slept there last night, but it was currently empty. Small artifacts littered the dresser and one of two nightstands. He was single and often slept alone. Somewhat neat, but not anal about it.
My boots creaked as I sank down onto my haunches, trying to see whatever had darted under the bed.
As if hearing my unspoken question, Darius said, “It was a cat.”
I pulled in a breath. “That thing jumping at me was a cat?”
“Yes. You firebombed a kitty.”
“Crap. What kind of a monster sets fire to a cat?” I grimaced and got on my hands and knees. “Are you sure? I don’t want some creature that you mistakenly thought was a cat to dart out at my face.”
“I am sure, yes. It was a black cat.”
I crawled a little closer, searching for it. The smell of burned hair tickled my nose, making me potentially feelworse. Potentially, because I wasn’t fully convinced it was an actual cat, and not some vile thing with three rows of teeth that the mage had found lurking in the wilds of the Realm. I’d seen some crazy things in my life.
A lump much too close to my face shuddered and hissed. Something flung out at me. I jerked back. Flame roared in front of my face again, blocking anything from advancing.
“Of all the things to fear, a cat gets you jumpy?” Darius asked with humor ringing in his voice.
I sighed and ripped down the wall of fire. “Are you positive it’s a cat? I think it threw something at me.”
Darius was hunched behind me, looking under the bed. “It struck out with its paw. When you first opened the door, it was trying to get out of the room. You stopped it handily. And now it is afraid of you. Rightly so.”
“At least it’s alive.” I took a deep breath and sat back. “Well, this makes me an asshole.”
“Yes. Get out of the way. I’ll bring it out.”
I scooted to the side. “Vampires aren’t afraid of cats?”
“Why would my kind fear a defenseless animal?”
“Well, when you put it like that…” I stood as he somehow coaxed the animal out from under the bed. He cuddled it in his arms, stroking its black head. “So, you actuallylikecats. Huh. The things you learn.”
“I like ordinary cats, yes.”
